Imploding
by e-p-unum
Summary: movieverse. AU Not related to Devastation. Alan has trouble dealing with the attack on his family. FINALLY Updated! Use to be Another Untitled. only a little this time, but more to come. Thnx for not giving up on me. :
1. Taking the call

Hi everyone. Don't worry, I'm still writing Devastation. I just needed to get this short one out of the way first before I finished it. I did update the name of the other piece by the way, it was recommended to me by two reviewers. Thanks! Speaking of reviewers, I am agog. I never expected that kind of a turn out from one of my stories. Wow. Just wow. Thanks! 

I was rewatching the movie again and noticed the lunch scene. It struck me as entirely too strange for a teenage boy, so I came up with my own reasons. They plus a made for TV movie I saw back in high school became this. I'm hurting Alan again:sigh: I promise I'll put him back whole and sane though for the next fic writer. Thanks again, everyone!  
Disclaimer: I don't own the T-birds. I just borrow them. There's just something amazing about their family dynamic that fascinates me.

Untitled

Lady Penelope was enjoying a quiet countryside drive when she received the call. "M'lady, it appears to be a call from young Alan Tracy's school." Parker seemed surprised.

"I imagine that Jeff and the boys are still working on that forest fire in California. The call must have been routed here by John. Put it on the camera please Parker."

Lady Penelope turned in her seat so she could look dead center into the vid phone. Here gaze was steady and her appearance was immaculate, as always. "This is Lady Penelope Creighton Ward, how may I assist you?"

"Ma'am this is Headmaster Barrington from Wharton's Academy for boys. I was trying to reach Mr. Jeff Tracy." The voice trailed off and became uncertain at the end.

"Mr. Tracy is unavoidably detained right now. I can assist you. Has something happened with Alan?" The headmaster responded to her non nonsense manner.

"I'm afraid so. Alan collapsed on his way to class earlier today. The EMT's were unable to revive him. They transported him to the hospital. He was being treated for mild anemia and exhaustion. I left a message earlier on Mr. Tracy's voicemail."

"The poor boy. Mr. Tracy probably has not been able to check his voicemail yet today. Did the hospital need any additional medical information?"

"No Ma'am, the school was able to provide all the needed documentation. We've been notified that there have been some additional developments in with Alan's condition, and that he may need to be admitted. They need a parent or guardian to contact them as soon as possible."

"I see. Do you have the number of the hospital and the Doctor's name? I'll take them now."

"Yes Lady, I'm transmitting them to your vid link now."

Penelope waited for the download confirmation to show on her monitor. She was a little concerned. Both Fermat and Alan had returned to their school more than a month ago. The boys had been in high spirits after the defeat of the Hood and being named members of international rescue. She couldn't imagine that anything could have gone wrong.

The data transmission hand long since ended so Lady Penelope signed off the call with a per functionary good bye. Instead of contacting the hospital she placed a call Alan's dormitory instead. The call was immediately picked up on the other end.

"Dad!" Fermat's teary face filled the screen.

"No Fermat, dear it's me. I just received a call from your headmaster. It appears that the others are unable to divert their attention away from the rescue. How are you?"

"Lady Penelope! Thank g-g-goodness! A-alan collapsed. We were just walking to algebra and he j-j-just fainted. He wouldn't wake up! An am-am-ambulance took him away a c-c-c- two hours ago. No one will tell me what's wrong." The young man wailed in misery.

"Yes dear. You are alright though?"

Fermat nodded with a sniffle.

"I'm about to call the doctor now, but I wanted to check in with you first. Stay near the line, I'll contact you right back."

"O-o-okay Lady Penelope thanks!" Fermat's image disappeared and Parker began the next transmission.

"Young master Heckenbecker seems quite upset, M'lady."

"Yes, the poor boy. You may want to prepare a course for New England, Parker. We may be needed there."

"Yes M'lady. The course is ready. I have a Dr. Feng from St.Catherine's Hospital on the line now.

"Put him through Parker." There was a brief delay and then an ageless Asian face appeared on the screen. Lady Penelope sat back in her chair and addressed the woman before her.

"Dr. Feng, thank you for taking my call. I am Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. I was notified that an Alan Tracy was in your care and that you needed to speak with a guardian immediately.

The beautiful woman frowned and flicked a log straight pony tail back over her scrub clad shoulder. "Yes Ms. Creighton-Ward. Alan was brought in nearly two hours ago. He had passed out at school and was unable to be revived by their staff. We preformed some additional testing and discovered several other poor health indicators. Are you able to make a decision for Mr. Tracy regarding possible long term care?"

Penelope couldn't decide if she liked the dry professional or not. She kept her tone calm and business like as she answered. "Alan's father has authorized me to make decisions concerning Alan's health and well being in his unavoidable absence. What were the results of your tests"  
The doctor gave a brisk nod and consulted her data pad. "Alan appeared to be suffering from exhaustion when he was first brought in. I did order blood work and there was an indication of anemia. We preformed a topical exam of Mr. Tracy and discovered mild bruising along his prominent bone protrusions along his pelvis, back, shoulders, and ribcage. The bruising appeared to be caused by the extremely tin lining between his skeletal structure and his skin. This maybe what led to his exhaustion? He may have been unable to sleep do to discomfort. We also discovered that Alan is between 20 to 25 pounds under weight. I expect that we will find several more dietary inefficiencies when his test results are complete."

Penelope was astounded. "I was just visiting with Alan and his family less than a month ago. I didn't see any indication of what you are describing. How could it have happened so fast?"

"If Alan has been depriving himself of food and sleep for the last several weeks, he could easily have worked himself into this condition." The doctor noted the information on her pad.

"You don't think Alan has done this on purpose, do you?" Penelope asked, dismayed. That didn't make any sense.

"Usually we see this sort of bad eating behavior in teenage girls, but it is not unheard of in teenage boys as well. Although it may sometimes begin purposefully, very rarely does it continue in that manner. It can be the onset of an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or many other things. If Alan has experienced any new stressors or any dramatic recent changes or episode in his school or home life, they can also lead to eating problems. I can't determine what might be the cause of this sudden weight loss unless I can question Mr. Tracy about his recent habits."

Penelope responded to the tone of irritation in the doctor's voice. She could think of one or two events that might have recently influenced the youngest Tracy. "Has Alan refused to answer your questions?"

"Mr. Tracy has not returned to consciousness. I decided not to wake him. He appears to need his rest the most at this point. I have him on a saline drip to ward against dehydration. I would also like to prescribe a special high fat diet. If this condition is caused by a habit change and is as recent as you say, he may just need to be monitored until he has resumed his normal eating habits and has regained his target weight. If his health continues to decline he may need to be placed in counseling and even admitted."

Penelope nodded as she took in this information." I seriously doubt Alan deliberately set out to cause this sort of damage to himself. It's not in his nature to be self destructive like this. However, since he isn't awake to speak with us himself we will have to try to get our answers from another source." She said decidedly. "Dr. Feng, do you have any problems with releasing Alan to my care? I can be there in approximately three hours."

"I would like to have a psychiatric consultation done first, before releasing Mr. Tracy. There is nothing in the initial testing that indicates that he needs to be admitted for a long term. "

"I'll take care of the consult. The Tracy's have a family therapist that is familiar to Alan. I think he will be best."

Dr. Feng agreed reluctantly and removed Alan's record from the psychiatric consult request queue. "I believe Alan will sleep through to your arrival. Please have me paged when you arrive so I can give you any last instructions and prescriptions on Alan's case."

"Thank you, doctor. I shall." The two women disconnected from one another. Penelope paused the vid phone, stopping its return into the seat back. She placed her hand over her mouth for a moment and squeezed her eyes shut. After a moment she took a deep shuddering breather and addressed the other person in the car. "Parker, please make our best time to Massachusetts. I believe a visit to Alan is in order."

"Yes, M'lady." Parker responded quietly. He pressed a button on the broad dashboard and flipped his goggles down over his eyes, as the FAB1 began its conversion to flight mode. The sleek pink Ford seemed to float on the road as the wings slid out from beneath the cars body. Parker felt a thrill of excitement as he began the steady increase in speed that was needed for liftoff.

"I think Fermat may have the answers to a few of the good doctor's questions." Lady Penelope spoke to herself as she rekeyed the Wharton's dormitory code. Fermat's response this time was just as quick but slightly less panicked.

"L-l-lady Penelope, thank goodness. How's Alan?"

She smiled at the young genius. Fermat and Alan seemed to care for one another a great deal, constantly looking out for each other. "He's sleeping peacefully right now, Fermat." She answered as the jet car began its trek over the Atlantic Ocean. "I wanted to ask you some questions, to see if we might be able to determine what led to Alan's collapse. Are you up for it?"

"Ye-yes, anything." He was eager to help his friend somehow.

"Good man." Penelope said approvingly. "Fermat, what has Alan's eating habits been like over the last several weeks?" From the exasperated look on the boys face, she knew she had guessed right.

"Is that w-what caused this? I knew it was taking too long this time for Alan to adapt back to Wharton's."

"This time?"

Fermat nodded and explained. "Alan always has a hard time with eating when we travel between the island and school. He'll spend a week or more just playing with his food instead of eating. It's normal for him. He can never seem to adapt back quickly from the Island's time zone. He gets hungry at the wrong times and then is never able to eat when mealtime does come."

"He's always been able to get back on schedule before though?" Penelope verified.

"Yeah, sometimes it's just 4 or 5 days. Once it was for two weeks that was when we fist started at Wharton's. Alan was in knots."

"He's anxious?" She asked doubtfully. That didn't sound like the Alan she knew.

"Yeah, he hates leaving Tracy Island. He can't stand being away from everyone. He usually only has problems eating for one or two days when we travel back home."

Penelope nodded thoughtfully, on the occasions she had been present for one of Alan's homecomings, she had noticed that he seemed to lack any real appetite. She had always attributed it to the excitement of being home. "Something was different this time?" She prodded the boy.

"Y-y-yes. This time it just lasted longer and Alan seemed like he was choking down everything he did eat." He paused for a moment and frowned. Then he said as if it had just occurred to him. "Of course, Alan w-was having problems before we ever even left the island."

Her gaze became critical as she took in the young man before her. "How do you mean?"

"He never really got back into a pattern, and then after the Hood attacked it was even worse." Fermat ducked his head. "W-we both had n-nightmares for days afterwards. Sometimes Alan would get sick from them."

Penelope's heart softened. "Yes, I had a nightmare or two myself after the attack. I imagine we all did."

"R-r-really?" Fermat looked hopeful.

"Really." She promised. Fermat smiled at her shyly.

"You said Alan became ill. Does he still?"

"N-n-no. That only lasted for a couple days after we came back to school. I don't think he's having the n-nightmare's anymore either." There was envy in his voice. "Alan b-b-bounces back quickly."

"His entire family seems to." Penelope agreed.  
"He did try to f-fix it though." Fermat said in defense of his friend. "He tried to eat at meal times. He didn't snack during the day so he would be hungry. It just didn't work this time, I guess."

"That is what it looks like. He's lost a lot of weight, Fermat. His bones have started to bruise his skin because he doesn't have enough cushioning."

He looked dismayed, but nodded. "Y-yeah, he has a high metabolism. He can loose five pounds really quickly just by missing a few meals. He's pretty skinny too, normally."

"He's lost 25 pounds in a relatively short period. It's not healthy."

Fermat grimaced. "It's not going to be easy for him to gain that back. H-h-he has a hard time staying at a target weight when everything is normal. He drives the coach nuts."

Penelope paused in thought to summarize what she had been told. "It sounds like Alan has been trying to resolve this problem on his own by his normal means and failed." Fermat remained silent but seemed to agree. "I think a trip back to Tracy Island may be what is needed here. Alan can't risk loosing anymore weight and he adapts best in surroundings he's familiar with. He would also have his family to help him.

He smiled; Alan would certainly like this solution best. "H-h-he can download the teachers lecture's from the school's web page. O-o-one of the student's who was in a car accident had to do that last semester."

"And certainly you will help him, won't you Fermat?" The question caused the boy's eyes to light up.

"D-do you think I could?"

"I don't see why not. We'll need to ask your father's permission first."

"H-he's not answering. I tried to c-call before." He groused.

"Well let's see if we can reach John. He may be able to your father's attention if he's not too busy." Envelope said as she paged the astronaut in thunderbird 5.

Fermat's eyes were wide. Neither he nor Alan ever tried to contact the Tracy brother who was stationed in orbit. It wasn't that they had ever been told not to, but somehow it was implied. John's thunderbird monitored all of the air traffic on earth, filtering it for distress calls. It had never seemed appropriate to interrupt the quiet older man at his work.

John pleasant voice broke into the line. "This is thunderbird 5, how can I assist you Lady Penelope?" There was a slight pause, then, "Hello Fermat, you're on the line too, huh?"

"Y-y-yes, Sir."

John smiled at the younger boy's response.

"John I need to ask you if Brain's might be available for a moment. I know you are in the middle of a rescue."

John tilted his head to the side slightly. "They're just rounding things up. I'll check for you." After a few moments of silence Brains's voice came on the line.

"S-s-son, is everything a- a OK? What's going on?"

"I-I-I-I'm alright, D-d-dad." Fermat's stutter was more pronounced because of the situation.

"Fermat is fine, Brains, but I need to bring Alan home to the Island for a little while. We were hoping Fermat could join us." Penelope broke in quickly to assure the scientist.

Brains was quiet for a bit and there was some muffled, questioning voices in the background. "T-that's f-f-fine, if Alan is coming back also. You'll be able to keep up with your work?"

"N-no problem, Dad."

"Thank you, Brains. We should be at Tracy Island this evening." She addressed the younger Heckenbecker. "Fermat you had best go pack for you and Alan. I'll send Parker to pick you up while I deal with the hospital."

"Y-y-yes Lady Penelope! See you soon Dad, thanks!"

"S-s-see you son." Fermat logged off the line and Penelope waited for the inevitable questions. She didn't have to wait long.

"What's going on with Alan?" John asked instantly. He was quickly followed by Brains with :I-i-is Alan alright, Lady Penelope?"

"Alan will be fine providing I can get him home for a few weeks. I don't want to get into the details now. Suffice it to say that Alan passed out at school today and will need an extended period of time to recover. I think it'll be best if he does so from home, instead of his dormitory." The pink Lady's tone was clipped.

"He is going to be alright?" John wasn't at all happy with her answer.

"If we can help him now and if his health doesn't get any worse. I'll speak to Jeff later about the particulars John." She was adamant. Penny wouldn't share Alan's secrets with his brother's unless she absolutely needed to. Right not she needed to speak with Alan's father first.

"F-FAB." Brains answered her and then disconnected his end of the call.

John was still unhappy. If there was one thing that would always rouse the normally laid back man, it was any perceived threat to his family. He nearly growled into his headset mic."Penny…."

"John." She returned undaunted. "I need to tell Jeff first. It needs to be his decision on how to proceed. Whether he chooses to tell you or not, is his choice, not mine." Lady P could diffuse any hot headed Tracy man.

John was silent seeing the truth in her statement. "He's not going to be happy is he?"

Penelope gave a feeble laugh and felt hot tears prick at her eyes. "No John, he's not going to be happy at all." Children weren't supposed to be starving for any reason, not in 2064. She took a breath to collect herself. "Will you have him contact me as soon as he is able? He probably has several messages from the boys' school and the hospital."

"I will lady P." Calm and resolute, John Tracy was a remarkable man.

"I should be in the car for the next two hours or so, when you need to reach me."

"FAB Penny. I'll let dad know.

Her 'thank you, John' was heartfelt.


	2. Telling the boys

Another Untitled: Chapter 2

I promised I would try to get this out over the weekend. I am very sorry for the late update. Rest assured, I have not abandonded either of these fics. I just have been way busy in RL. I am however seeking someone to assist with betaing and story ideas. I will give full credit for the assistance. I haven't been to happy with the flow of either story. It seems like an awful lot of 'looking' and 'sighing' going on.Please PM me if you would like to help.

Standard Disclaimer. I with they were mine. They aren't. (Waah!)

Nearly an hour later the men of International Rescue were airborne, returning to their island base. John gave them about fifteen minutes to settle into their flight before paging his father to a private line. Quickly he gave him the few details that he had. Alan had, for some unknown reason, passed out at school. He was in the hospital. Lady Penelope was on her way to check him out and return both the families youngest and his best friend to Tracy Island.

His father had been alarmed and immediately contacted the beautiful IR operative. They had spoken for a long time, only stopping when Penelope had arrived at ST. Catherine's Hospital. Jeff Tracy was still enroute to his island home with three of his sons' and their thunderbirds. John had contacted his father back then and been confronted with a hurt and confused man.

Jeff finally decided to bring all his son's in on the situation.

"Boys, Alan is going to be coming back home for a little while. His health has been deteriorating since his return to Wharton's and is approaching a dangerous level. I'm going to need you all to help out, right now he is at a serious turning point and he can either get a lot better or a lot worse, quickly."

"What's wrong, Dad?" Gordon was worried. He was very protective of his only little brother.

Jeff looked pained. "I don't really understand, for some reason, either Alan can't or won't eat. He's starving himself and he can't stop."

The replies were instantaneous.

"What?"

"Why would he do that?"

"How long has this been going on?"

"What do you mean, starving?"

The four Tracy's bombarded their father.

Looking troubled, Jeff simply stated, "I don't know. I just don't know boys."

"Is he anorexic Dad?" Gordon asked quietly. From his time as an Olympic contender, Gordon had known several athletes who had borderline eating disorders. He had seen first hand the affects of one. The experience had been burned into his memory forever. He had come across one of the gymnasts in the hotel locker room coughing up blood. None of the man's teammates had seemed to care when the young man had been hospitalized immediately following his events. They had treated the athlete as if his illness had somehow been his own fault.

"The doctor doesn't think so, Gordon." Jeff answered. "This problem seems to occur on a pretty regular basis. Any time Alan's regular schedule is disrupted he has a period where he stops eating."

"For how long?" Gordon, again.

"It depends; Penny says he's been managing the smaller episodes on his own, four to ten days, two weeks at the most. When he returns to Tracy Island the effect usually only lasts a couple days."

Virgil thoughtfully said, "You know that's right, come to think of it. He never really does eat his first day or two back home. I always thought it was because he was upset that he had received a lecture or gotten in trouble." He stopped at his father's hurt expression.

"I'm sure that never helped."

"What went wrong this time?" Scott asked. "If he usually manages all right, why is this being brought up now? He's been back at Wharton's for over a month."

There was silence for a moment as what Scott had asked sunk in.

"A month!" John's voice echoed in the cockpit of thunderbird two. "He's been like this for a month? Why are we just finding out now?"

"Easy John, easy."

Gordon was upset too. "Why didn't the little booger ask for help? What was he thinking!"

"I don't know son. He collapsed at school today from a complication. Who knows how long he would have allowed this to go on if it hadn't happened. Be sure I intend to ask him though. The last time I spoke with Penny he hadn't regained consciousness yet."

"He collapsed? What kind of complication?" Virgil was beginning to sound cranky. Gordon glared at him from the co-pilot's seat.

"This isn't Alan's fault, Virgil. He isn't doing this to get attention."

"You don't know that." Virgil shot back at him.

"Alan's not like that, Virge! You had better not-"

"Boys!" Jeff broke into the impending fight. "Alan did not cause his illness on purpose. You can get that thought out of your mind right now. I don't believe that any of you boys would willingly cause yourselves harm." His blue eyes were ice as he surveyed his sons.

"Yes Father." And a few, "Yes Sir's" were heard from the speakers.

"I don't get it. Why doesn't he just eat something?" Virgil was running his gloved hands through his hair, causing it to stick up in different directions.

"He's probably asked himself the same thing for the past month, Virge." Gordon sighed with a look of regret at his brother. Virgil nodded a silent apology back at his little brother.

"What complications, Dad?" Scott chimed in from thunderbird one.

"Today was exhaustion. He has a really low energy level from the lack of nutrition. He also can't sleep for long periods of time because of discomfort. Everywhere his bones press against a surface is bruised and painful. HE doesn't have enough fat to cushion between his skin and skeleton."

"Damn it!" Scott snapped in dismay.

"Scott!" and "You said it brother." quickly followed his outburst.

"Sorry Sir." Scott apologized to his father for his language.

"I'm not." Came from the speaker.

"John." Their father's voice held a warning note. Gordon and Virgil exchanged wide eyed glances. John didn't usually test their father's patience like this.

Finally, "sorry Dad, I just can't believe this is happening. We just got finished with the Hood and now this. What is our family going to have to deal with next?" John sounded tired and emotionally drained.

Jeff made a mental note to talk to his son more later. It sounded as if he was having problems coping with the residual stress from the Hood attack as well. "Whatever else happens, we'll handle it together, as a family." He stated firmly.

"Penny thinks that Hood's attack is part of what made this episode so bad for Alan. He was having problems when he returned to Wharton's and those two things together just exacerbated and already bad situation."

"I knew I should have sat on him until he talked to me." Gordon ground out. "The little -. He said he was OK, and I trusted him." He punched at a button on his display.

"He told me he was fine too, Gordon. You're not the only one he snowed over." Scott commiserated with his younger brother.

"He glued my new piano book shut." Virgil put in with a suffering sigh. "I thought if he was doing well enough to pull pranks then he must have been fine."

"He's good as misdirection." John put in from orbit.

"Yeah!" Gordon agreed with pride in his voice.

Virgil cuffed him playfully on an ear. "That's not a good thing, dummy."

"Says you."

John's light laughter filled the air waves. "You'll have to keep a close eye on him, guys. Something tells me Little Brother isn't going to take well to his secret getting out. You know how much he hates anything that could be perceived as a weakness."

"Yeah, just like Scott."

"Hey!"

"That's true."

"Watch it, John."

"Or you'll do what, Scott?" The blond astronaut goaded his older brother.

"You won't be on that hunk of tin forever Johnny-boy."

Jeff smiled grimly. No matter how tense the situation his son's were always able to help each other back from it. It was a good trait to have after harrowing rescues. Jeff hoped their good humor would be able to remain intact over the next few weeks. He had a feeling things were going to get a lot harder to deal with on Tracy Island.


	3. Finding Courage

Yes, I am evil. Fully acknowledged and accepted. All hate mail that I received for not updating in (wow a year?!) I fully deserve. Hopefully I will have the next chapter of Devastation up this week as well. I am sorry guys. This is a mediocre start back into the story, but I'm a little rusty.

Standard Disclaimers apply.

Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward sat reclined in the back seat of her bright pink Ford. "Jeff I'm nearing the hospital now. Do you want me to have Alan call you when we start back to the island?" Parker was pulling the car into the pull through at the hospitals front entrance.

"Only if he's feeling up to it; is Parker going to go and pickup Fermat now?" Jeff Tracy was calling from the cockpit of one of the thunderbirds.

Penelope caught Parker's eye in the review mirror and watched him nod. "Yes, he's going to get Alan and Fermat's school supplies as well. We may need to stop at a grocer's as well on our way out. Dr. Feng had mentioned a special diet for Alan."

Jeff nodded. "I'll see you later tonight then, Penelope. Thank you for helping out."

"Always a pleasure, Jeff, I'll see you tonight." Penny disconnected her vidlink and spoke to Parker. "Wharton's is only 20 minutes from here. I've already called ahead to the school's dormitory to let them know you will be arriving shortly. Fermat should already have their things packed and ready to go."

"Yes, M'lady. The lad and I will return within the hour." Parker tipped his forefinger to his head in response and slid the pink Ford into a receiving area of the hospital. He left the engine idling as he hopped out to smartly open the car door for Lady Penelope.

With a grace bred from years of protocol classes Penelope exited from the rear of her car. She straightened her suit jacket and nodded her farewell to her loyalist servant. "I'll see you then, Parker." Resolutely she turned to peer into the daunting building ahead of her. The hospital was a light beige color and with the main building being made entirely from cut stone. It was a very old building, having been first used as a hospital for the French forces during the revolutionary war, when it had been annexed from a lord holder that had fled to Britain when the war had first turned vicious. Additional edifices had been added over time to the over all structure. The architects had attempted to stay true to the overall form and had chosen building materials that complemented the main building.

She made her way into a tall, well lit foyer that opened into a wide receiving room. The moldings along the walls and the banister of the stairs were reminiscent of a much older time. A time when crafters and creators made their living by their own hands in small buildings lit by oil lanterns and candles and floors covered in hay to keep the fleas from the stains and wood. You could feel time in this room. Standing quiet and still for a moment, Penny processed the sensation. It was unusual for find a place like this in the America's. It was still too new of a country for even the oldest of buildings to have accumulated their own since of permanence and presence like the ones in her homeland had. Oddly, she felt much more comfortable as she turned towards a large credenza that had been erected against a side wall. Walking up to the front desk she blinked at the sight of the 7 inch tall mini-pen computers that were sitting in the center of the desks, surprised at the technology. The red light from the keyboard graphic on the white desktop reflected back up onto the receptions face, lending a cheery apple tint to her cheeks.

The mature woman gave her a pleasant smile as she stopped at the desk. "Good afternoon, dear. How can I assist you?"

Penelope felt herself responding warmly. "I'm here to see Alan Tracy. He was brought in earlier today from Wharton's Academy. Doctor Feng is his attending." The receptionist nodded and slid her fingers expertly over the table top, gently tapping her index fingertip periodically on the desktop.

"Is that Tracey with and 'e'?" She verified.

"No, just a 'y'" A nod and then: "I have him here. He's in room 4017. That's on the 4th floor. If you take the hall way to your left, there will be a bank of elevators on your right. At the top, go straight through the double doors and take the next immediate left. He should be a few doors down from there." She wiped her hand across the keyboard projection to clear her search and return to the main VDT screen. Penny thanked her and then made her way to the elevators.

A large, garishly painted purple '4' greeted her when she stepped off the elevator. She wrinkled her nose and muttered. "Ghastly!" Quickly she located room 4017 and stood outside it for a moment, gathering her thoughts. The door was open and a thin why curtain was pulled around the bed inside for privacy. She could hear the steady hiss of oxygen and the quiet atonal blurps from a set of monitoring machines. Penelope pushed the curtain back with a timid hand.


End file.
